A looming strike by Macy's employees has been averted after a tentative contract agreement was reached by a union representing four New York locations and the company, the union said. Photo Credit: Getty Images / Spencer Platt

Macy’s Inc and a local union have reached a tentative contract agreement that would avoid a strike by 5,000 workers at four New York locations, including its flagship store on Manhattan’s Herald Square.

Local 1-S Macy’s Workers announced on its Facebook page Thursday morning that it had reached an agreement for a new four-year contract with Macy’s.

The union said ratification meetings would be held for workers in Herald Square, Queens, the Bronx and White Plains between Monday and Thursday next week.

The agreement avoids a looming strike, as workers prepared to walk off the job by midnight Thursday if a deal had not been reached by then.

Though the details of the agreement have not yet been made clear, the union was demanding a more affordable health care plan, pay increases and changes to scheduling and commissions policies.